Get Charlie Noah

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

They ate by candlelight. The chicken was actually chicken and was cooked in herbs and spices, garlic and ginger with rice and home grown sweet potato. Ben poured rich red wine for each of them. He knew it probably wasn't appropriate with chicken but neither of them cared and Christine had run out of white wine anyway. Ben was having difficulty keeping his eyes off her beautiful face and tantalizing body and the way she deliberately kept her shoulders pulled back made it clear that she enjoyed teasing him immensely. He studied the lines of her face and her full, sensual lips. Her skin seemed to glow in the candlelight. He kept thinking of what Reginald Noah was actually missing out on and speculating as to why he had gone to another woman when he was married to this amazing creature. Perhaps there was something wrong with her...something that he would learn and force him to regret ever being with her...pursuing her. Ben shook that thought from his mind as he recalled the plea for help on the bathroom mirror. Looking at her now, she seemed so relaxed. She wasn't fearful. She was calm and confident and very sexy.

A gentle ocean breeze pushed past the plantation shutters at the windows facing the east. The candles flickered and wisps of Charlie's hair fluttered across her face. She brushed them behind an ear with one hand. Ben examined her necklace. It was made from silver links and adorned with chunks of what appeared to be bright blue jade. Three large pearls hung from tiny gold shells at the front of the necklace.

'It was my mother's,' said Charlie.

'It's beautiful,' said Ben as he placed his knife and fork together on the plate. He sat back and sipped the wine. 'You are beautiful.'

She studied his face for a moment. 'I've had that said to me before. I married a man who used to say it to me all the time. None of them ever convinced me that they actually meant what they said...except you.'

'And I know about your enhancements,' said Ben with a grin.

'Yes you do. Does that put you off?'

'What do you think?'

'It doesn't seem to put you off,' said Charlie.

Ben stood. 'I'll run the spa. It takes a while. The water is gravity fed from a tank somewhere.'

'Where does the electricity come from?'

'Christine runs a generator. She'll turn it off at 10 pm.'

'That won't matter,' said Charlie.

'No.'

'Do you know that you're not supposed to go into the water for at least half an hour after eating a meal?'

'It will take at least that long to run this spa bath,' said Ben.

'We'll be okay then,' said Charlie.

'I think so.'

She let down her long black hair as she straddled his naked body. Perspiration ran between her breasts. Her arms were around his neck and she slowly moved her mouth onto his. The warm spa water swirled and fragrances of frangipani and sandalwood filled the room. Candles flickered in the gentle ocean breeze. She moved back from him briefly. 'Can I tell you now that I'm having one of the most amazing nights of my life?'

'Me too,' said Ben.

Her mouth, tongue, hands and body told him that she really meant what she had said.

Ben gently slid the jungle knife out of its scabbard and grabbed his cargo pants and thick soled running shoes as he moved through the bedroom into the living area. Charlie was in a deep sleep and snoring gently. It had been a very physically demanding evening up until around midnight. Now at 2.30 am he knew something was wrong. Sounds were wrong. The pigs seemed restless and the jungle was strangely quiet. He pulled on his cargo pants and shoes. He knew he didn't have time for socks or a shirt. The Cree torch clipped onto his belt. It wouldn't be needed just yet...the cover of darkness would work in his favour. Ben slowed his breathing and flexed the fingers of his left hand, then moved the knife to that hand and flexed the fingers of his right hand. He moved quickly down the timber stairs from the verandah to the grass. There was no moon but the stars were shining brightly. The thick jungle gave him cover but it was too dense to walk through so he moved along the edge towards the main entrance of the resort. The pigs snorted ahead of him. Suddenly one of the pigs screamed and there was a scuffle ahead in the darkness. Ben launched himself towards the noise. He pulled out the Cree torch and turned it onto high power. The huge pig was thrashing about at the side of the track with its throat cut. Blood was flying into the air and splashing off thick jungle plants. The movement to his left was quick and a knife blade flashed in the torchlight. Ben blocked the downward motion of the knife and punched the torch forward. It met with a sickening crunch of flesh and bone. A much louder scream erupted. The man with short red hair fell backwards...his thick black glasses smashed by Ben's torch blow. He slashed at Ben's legs with the knife and tried to get to his feet. Ben used the back of his jungle knife to deliver a crushing hit to the back of the man's head. The red haired man collapsed face down to the ground. He kept swinging the knife in his right hand but all the blade was doing was cutting the grass. Ben moved in and broke his neck with a savage stamp of his right foot.